Six Local Men Arrested for Child Pornography

A total of fourteen men, including an employee of a local TV station, were arrested recently in the first sting since new, tougher child pornography laws went into effect in New Jersey. Under the statute the men could face mandatory prison time if convicted, along with lifetime supervision under Megan’s Law, Press of Atlantic City reports.

32-year old Lower Township resident Mitchell Beard, whose Facebook page lists him as an employee of WMGM-TV NBC 40 in Linwood, his brother Jackson Beard, also 32, were among those arrested for using a file-sharing network to download and distribute child porn, acting Attorney General John Hoffman announced Tuesday.

A mail carrier from Egg Harbor Twp and a Bridgeton supermarket customer service representative are also among the six local men accused of using the network to download the illegal materials, including videos of children being raped.

Earlier this year investigators followed “fingerprints” of known child pornography as well as search terms used by those who download such files, explained Andrew McLees, special agent in charge of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, whose office led the investigation.